Honestly, as a father of young girls, I see my fair share of animated films, so when I saw the poster for Ugly Dolls, the latest animated offering from STX , I secretly hoped my girls would not notice. Sure enough, however, the preview played before the latest How To Train Your Dragon and they all unanimously agreed this was on their list of must-sees. When I went back to view the trailer again, I realized the not-so-subtle message of battling negative perceptions of self-image and discovering inner beauty. I then thought of my girls who will soon be navigating through some of the most challenging times of self-evaluation. You know what? I want them to see this. I want them to be aware of every message that speaks life into them instead of criticism.

In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weird is celebrated, strange is special and beauty is embraced as more than simply meets the eye. Here, the free-spirited Moxy and her UglyDoll friends live every day in a whirlwind of bliss, letting their freak flags fly in a celebration of life and its endless possibilities. The endearingly unique residents of Uglyville occasionally look to the sky above the town, where a new UglyDoll will appear and be embraced by the community.

Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) loves her square-peg life in this round-hole town, but her curiosity about all things leads her to wonder if there’s something – anything – on the other side of the mountain which nestles Uglyville. Moxy gathers a group of her closest friends and sets off to find what’s on the other side. They discover another world – Perfection – a town where more conventional dolls are trained in protocols before they graduate and are sent to the “real” world to find the love of a child.

In Perfection, Moxy and her crew are subject to the manipulations of Lou (Nick Jonas), the perfect doll in charge of training recruits. Here, the UglyDolls will confront what it means to be different, struggle with their desire to be loved, and ultimately discover that you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing because who you truly are is what matters most.